But while Mr Trump might be touting the report as a win — describing the probe as “The Greatest Political Hoax of all time!” — it is important to note the document does not exonerate him on the question of obstruction of justice.

First, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team stressed it was unable to “conclusively (determine) that no criminal conduct occurred”.

In other words, they weren’t able to prove something dodgy definitely happened — but that doesn’t mean Mr Trump’s hands are entirely clean.

“If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state,” the report states.

“Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,” it continues.

“The evidence we obtained about the President’s actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred. “Accordingly, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

President Donald Trump described the investigation as ‘The Greatest Political Hoax of all time!’ Picture: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisSource:AP

Second, while the report concluded Mr Trump did not collude with Russia, it did prove he at least attempted to meddle with the probe.

In June 2017, for example, he tried to force White House counsel Don McGahn to call the acting attorney-general and claim Robert Mueller should be removed due to a conflict of interest.

But Mr McGahn refused, as he worried it could lead to a string of chaotic firings and resignations similar to the “Saturday Night Massacre”, which occurred during the Watergate scandal.

Mr Trump also carried out “public attacks on the investigation, non-public efforts to control it, and efforts in both private and public to encourage witnesses not co-operate with the investigation”.

Another damning line within the report revealed two big problems the President can’t afford to ignore.

“The President’s efforts to influence the investigation were mostly unsuccessful, but that is largely because the persons who surrounded the President declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests,” the report said.

While it is just 31 words long, this key sentence shows Mr Trump did attempt to “influence” the probe — and while his actions might not amount to committing “criminal obstruction of justice”, it’s far from a good look.

It also shows he was only prevented from affecting the probe due to the blatant disobedience of those around him, implying Mr Trump has lost the control of his underlings, and hinting at further instability and division behind the scenes.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

The report ultimately did not recommend charging Mr Trump for obstruction, which means the President is off the hook.

Because the Trump campaign did not collude with Russia to win the election, there is no underlying crime for which Trump was obstructing the investigation, according to CNN.

Another reason was that several of the President’s subordinates “didn’t actually carry out their boss’s orders”, and that Mr Trump’s actions were largely carried out publicly, meaning it was “hard to conclude that the President was executing some sort of broadscale attempt to obstruct justice”.

Finally, a number of Mr Trump’s high-profile actions — such as firing FBI director James Comey — might have been controversial, but they were also “within his presidential powers”.